Compressor



- Dec. 1, 1931. CLAPP 1,834,596

' COMPRESSOR Filed Dec. 15, 1928 Lewisl Zap 4w; 142mm Patented Dec. 1,1931 srA Es LEWIS J'. CLAIPP, OF GLAREMONT', NEW HAJMPSIHIRE, ASSIGNORTO SULLIVAN MA- CHINEBY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS'coMrREssoR,

My invention relates to cooling systems for thermo-dynamlc machines, andmore par ticularly to control means for a liquid cooling system forcompressors.

The water jackets for the cylinders and valve housings of compressorsare frequently connected to a supply of cooling water which is limitedor which has to be paid for ata certain price per cubic foot wheretheliquid cooling system is connected to some city water main. It isaccordingly highly'essential that the water circulation be shut off atall times when the compressor is not in actual operation. Of course thismay be done by a manually controlled valve in the liquid circulatingline if the operator is careful to shut this valve off when thecompressor is shut down and open the same again when the com; pressor isstarted up. However, the oper- Iator may forget to close the valve atnight when the compressor is shut downor open the same in the morningwhereby there would either be an excess of water used or the com pressormight be overheated if the operator forgets to turn on the valve.Moreover, it is advantageous to interrupt the cooling water supply whenthe compressor is running unloaded, and this would demand too muchattention. A major object of my invention is therefore to provideimproved automatic means for cutting off the flow of circulating liquidin a cooling system when the compressor is not running andfor'permitting flow during operation of the compressor. From a generalaspect it is an object of my invention to provide improved control meansfor cooling systems of all thermodynamic machines. Another object of myinvention is to provide a control valve for a'liquid cooling system ofimproved design having automatic means for holding the valve closed whenthe compressor is not in operation and means responsive to dischargepressure for normally holding the valve open during operation of thecompressor. A still further object of the invention is to provide avalve in a liquid circulating system for a compressor with a controlmeans 'forautomatically opening the valve when the compressor is startedup and closing the same when the compressor is shut down, and superiorcontrolling means for closing the valve when the compressor is runningunloaded. Other objects and advantages of my invention will hereinaftermore fully appear. I

In a preferred embodiment my invention comprises means for controllingthe flow of cooling liquid through the jacketing of a compressor, suchmeans having, for effecting its operation to cause flow of the coolingfluid, provision which depends for its elfectiveness upon a function ofthe operation of the compressor. In a preferred form a controlling valveis movedto open position by an element to which pressure is applied byfluid compressed by the compressor. Operation of such an element mayobviously be controlled, within the purview of my invention, by othermeans whose effectiveness is a function of the running of thecompressor, as by an element whose position is controlled by a speedresponsive device which is operated with the compressor. itself.Preferably the element is yieldingly controlled so that a superiorpressure may control. the position of the flow controlling means, and inthe pre ferred embodiment of the invention such a superior pressure isautomatically exerted by means under control of the compessor unloadingsystem so that the cooling water flow is interrupted when the compressoris unloaded.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustrationone form which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings,

I Fig. .1 is a diagrammatic view in elevation of the essential elementsof a compressor system with which theillus'trative embodimentgof myimproved cooling water control mechanism is associated.

2 is a central sectional view through the illustrative embodiment of myimproved cooling liquid controlling mechanism.

, In Fig. 1 there is shown a simple form of single cylinder compressor 1supported on a baseQ and arranged'to discharge into a receiver 3 througha discharge pipe 4. It will be understood that my invention may beapplied to any compressor either portable or cylinder open by fluidpressure supplied through pipes 6 and 7 which are connected toa-nunloa'der. pilotiv al.ve-8 by.-a= common p'ipe 9. This pilotzvalvemayibeiof anyoi the well known types which will operateautomatically to supply pressure fluid to theunloaders upon apredeterminedchighreceiver, tank pressure and to vent the unloaders 'iorloading the compressor on a predetermined lowpressurein thereceivcr. Thepilot valve is shown, connected :to the receiver ,by a pipe l0.'Trllccylinder and valve mechanisms of the compressor are provided withthe usuad Wat rljackets which havenctlheen illustrated since theirspecific cons truction per se .is not a part of :my present invention;Cooling liquid :is sup ilied to the Water jackets or" the compressor{from :an inlet connection 11 through valve mechanism generalitydesiginated '12 and apipe 13'leading fromthe valve and conneotedto thecompressorat'll.

"The illustrative embodiment of any {i111- prdved valve mechanism comarises a valve casing 15in which is mountedra doubleseat valve element"-16 which is normallyheld in closed position by a coil spring 17 whenthe compressor is notin operation. For the pur pose of automaticallyopening the liquid control valve upon starting up of the compressor,,pressure responsive mechanism is connected "to the receiver .by pipe'18 and this pressure responsive device comprises cylinder '19 formedintegrally with the Valve casing '15 and a piston'20 mountedinisaidcylinder, one side o-f'the piston-being suppliedwvith pressurefrom line 18 and the other side vented to atmosphere by means of ports21. "The piston has an upwardly projecting stem 22 connected theretowhich engages the valve element 16 and lifts the same, unless preventedbysuperior pressure, when the piston is mov d lupward ly by pressure.

At the upper end of the valve casing is a second cylinder 23 also herein:,Eormed;i-Ertegral with the value casing 15, this cylinderebeingconnected with-the pilot valve 8 by means of .a pipe 24 so as to besupplied with pressure fluid d ping unloading of the "compressor. A.piston 25 is recipr-ocably mounted in cylfinder 23 and has a cylindricalrecess 26 in \WlllCll-lS received the spring '17. When pre 4 sure issupplied'to the cylinder???) from pilot valve '8, piston is forceddownwardly, thereby com-pressing spring 17 and engaging valve 16 andclosing the same notwithstanding the fact that piston20 is tendingtourge the valve upwardly since the cylinder 23 and under=the=action-(if-spring 17 until thecompressor is-started. When-"the compressor isstarted, sufficient pressure is very quickly bu'ilt up in the receiverto cause the piston 20 to actuate the Water control valve to openposition. "This permits cooling liquid to flow through theavaterjacketof the compressor at all times during normal effectiveoperation of the compressor. However, when the compressor isautomatically unloaded under the action of the pilot .valve -8, thecompressor piston simply reciprocates in :its cylinder Without duringany work-andthere is no need tor circulation :of cooling Water. :At-thistime pressure fluid is :also supplied \to cylinder 28 :and the-valve isagain actuated .to

closed position, thereby cutting off the cooling liquid during unloadingof the compressor. lVhen Jzhe compressor :i-s again loaded,-oylinder 23will be vented to atmosphere and pressureacting on piston120 will Openthe cooling water control valve. Now when the compressor isshut downffor any length of-time, [the compressed ifiuid remaininginthereceiveritank will either lea-k out-or be purposely vented toatmosphere. This will .relieve the gpressure-on ;piston.20 :and thevalve willibe-olosed-by-spring 17.

It will-therefore be -seen=thatim-y improved cooling water controlivalveemechanism :auto- .matically cuts oil the :supply of cooling waterwhen the compressor is shut down and is automatically opened again whenthe compressor is started up. This insures against waste of coolingwater or damage to themach-ine through tai-lure of the-opera- .tor .toattend -;to :the usual manual control valve in the cooling Water supplyline.

While I have in this -application.-speoi-fical ly described one formwhich the invention may assume in practice, it will be understoodthat-this form of the same isshown for pun poses of illustration andthat the invent-ion may be' modified and embodied in various other-formswithout departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

*1. In combination, aicompressona receiver, an unloa-der for saidcompressor, a pilot valve responsive to receiver pressure forcontrollingsaid un-loader, a fluid cooling system for said compressor, avalve for controlling flow of fluid in said cooling system, valvecon-trolling means operative as receiver pressure builds up to opensaidcooling fluid flow controlling valve and, during normal loadedoperation of said compressor, to hold said cooling fluid flowcontrolling valve in open position, and superior valve controlling meanscontrolled by said pilot valve for automatically eflecting closure ofsaid cooling fluid flow controlling valve when the compressor isunloaded.

2. In combination with a compressor having an unloading mechanism, areceiver, a pilot valve connected to said receiver for controlling saidunloading mechanism, a liquid cooling system for said compressor, avalve controlling flow of liquid in said system, a spring for holdingsaid valve closed when said compressor is not in operation, meansincluding a cylinder and a piston therein continuously subjected topressure in said receiver for holding said valve open during loadedoperation of said compressor, and an opposed cylinder and piston oflarger cross section than said first cylinder and piston connected tosaid pilot valve for closing said liquid control valve during unloadingof the compressor.

3. In combination, a machine, a liquid cooling system therefor, a valvefor controlling flow of liquid in said system, and means for controllingsaid valve including means for respectively moving the valve to closedand open positions by fluid pressure and a spring arranged to hold thevalve closed when said fluid pressure means are both inactive.

4. In combination, a compressor having an unloading mechanism, a liquidcooling system for said compressor, a valve for controlling flow ofliquid in said cooling system, a receiver, means for opening said valveoperative only after receiver pressure reaches a predetermined value, apilot valve connected to said receiver and to said unloading mechanism,means for moving said liquid valve to closed position by fluid pressurewhich is controlled by said pilot valve, whereby upon a predeterminedmaximum receiver pressure said pilot valve effects simultaneouslyunloading of said compressor and closure of said liquid valve.

5. In combination, a compressor having an unloading mechanism, a liquidcooling system therefor, a valve for controlling flow of liquid in saidcooling system, a receiver, means for moving said valve to open positionwith fluid pressure supplied directly from said receiver, fluid pressuremeans for moving said valve to closed position, a pilot valve connectedto said receiver, and fluid pressure connections from said pilot valveto said unloading mechanism and to said fluid pressure means for movingthe liquid control Valve to its closed position, whereby when receiverpressure reaches a predetermined maximum said pilot valve simultaneouslyunloads said compressor and closes said liquid valve.

6. In combination, a compressor, a fluid cooling system therefor, andmeans for controlling flow of cooling fluid in said system including avalve constantly biased towards closed position, means controlled bycompressor discharge line pressure for opening said valve when saidpressure exceeds a predetermined value, and means automaticallyoperative when said compressor discharge line pressure exceeds a desiredmaximum to effect closure of said valve. while said valve opening meanscontinues to exert its valve opening force.

7. In combination, a compressor, a fluid cooling system therefor, andmeans for controlling flow of cooling fluid in said system including avalve constantly biased. towards closed position, means responsive tocompressor discharge pressure for opening said valve when compressordischarge line pressure exceeds a predetermined value, and meansautomatically operative when said discharge line pressure exceeds adesired maximum to eflect closure of said valve while said valve openingmeans remains subjected to discharge line pressure.

8. In combination, a machine, a liquid cooling system therefor, a valvefor control ling flow of liquid in said system, and means forcontrolling said valve including an element for moving the valve to openposition by fluid pressure and a superior fluid responsive means forforcing said valve to closed position.

9. In combination, a receiver, a compressor discharging to said receiverand having an unloading mechanism, a liquid cooling system for saidcompressor, a valve for controlling flow of liquid in said coolingsystem, yielding means constantly acting to press said valve towardsclosed position, means for moving said valve to open position by fluidpressure supplied from said receiver, a pilot valve connected to saidreceiver and to said unloading mechanism, and a fluid pressureresponsive means also connected to said pilot valve for closing saidliquid controlling valve when pressure in said receiver reaches thevalue at which unloading takes place.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LEWIS J. CLAPP.

